was provided for her walk with Indian moccasins, which rendered her quite
independent; but I stumbled at every step. The sun shone brightly, the air
was clear and invigorating, and, in spite of the treacherous ground and my
foolish fears, I greatly enjoyed my first walk in the woods. Naturally of
a cheerful, hopeful disposition, my sister was enthusiastic in her
admiration of the woods. She drew such a lively picture of the charms of a
summer residence in the forest that I began to feel greatly interested in
her descriptions, and to rejoice that we too were to be her near
neighbours and dwellers in the woods; and this circumstance not a little
reconciled me to the change.

Hoping that my husband would derive an income equal to the one he had
parted with from the investment of the price of his commission in the
steamboat stock, I felt no dread of want. Our legacy of L700 had afforded
us means to purchase land, build our house, and give out a large portion
of land to be cleared, and, with a considerable sum of money still in
hand, our prospects for the future were in no way discouraging.

When we reached the top of the ridge that overlooked our cot, my sister
stopped, and pointed out a large dwelling among the trees. "There, S____,"
she said, "is your home. When that black cedar swamp is cleared away, that
now hides the lake from us, you will have a very, pretty view." My
conversation with her had quite altered the aspect of the country, and
predisposed me to view things in the most favourable light. I found Moodie
and Monaghan employed in piling up heaps of bush near the house, which
they intended to burn off by hand previous to firing the rest of the
fallow, to prevent any risk to the building from fire. The house was made
of cedar logs, and presented a superior air of comfort to most dwellings
of the same kind. The dimensions were thirty-six feet in length, and
thirty-two in breadth, which gave us a nice parlour, a kitchen, and two